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Xie Ye stared at her for three seconds, seemingly amused by her audacity. “Yes, I’m unemployed. So what?”
Chi Zhiyu blinked, “Then how much money do you have left from your competition earnings?”
“What?” Xie Ye looked at her, his tone leisurely, “Are you planning to take control of my finances now?”
“This isn’t even considered a salary,” Chi Zhiyu thought for a moment, “But it should be quite a lot, right? You get prize money after every match.”
Xie Ye smirked, “I’m not that poor. It’s more than you think.”
Chi Zhiyu raised an eyebrow, “How would you know what I’m thinking?”
Xie Ye sized her up and threw out three words, “Hard to guess?”
“…” Chi Zhiyu glanced at him, “What are you implying? Are you looking down on me just because I have a job?”
Xie Ye took her hand, “How dare I look down on you?”
Chi Zhiyu: “Hmm?”
Xie Ye lightly raised an eyebrow, “Didn’t the boss say she’d support me?”
“…”
Chi Zhiyu had almost forgotten about this but naturally nodded, “Yes, I did say that.”
“So,” Xie Ye rubbed the palm of her hand with his fingertip, dragging out his words, “Are you coming to pay for some fun tonight?”
Chi Zhiyu slapped his hand, “Who said anything about having fun with you?”
“Oh.”
Xie Ye acted completely nonchalant, “I find it pretty enjoyable myself.”
“…”
Chi Zhiyu was already numb to his antics and urged him to hurry up and drive.
Hearing this, Xie Ye didn’t continue teasing and started the car, heading out.
Chi Zhiyu leaned back into her seat, scrolling through her social media feed when she suddenly saw Su Le’s official announcement of his relationship. She immediately asked, “Do you know Su Le has a girlfriend now?”
Xie Ye kept his eyes on the road, slightly puzzled, “Who?”
“Su Le.”
“Oh, I don’t really care to know.”
“Who asked if you wanted to know? I’m asking if you know.”
Chi Zhiyu looked at the comments under Su Le’s post—there were responses from Li Taoran and Wu Xuan.
Wu Xuan: [? Is this the girl who was chasing you before?]
Li Taoran: [Get out of here, as if anyone would chase him.]
Li Taoran: [Just be careful of scams, everyone.]
Seeing this, Chi Zhiyu chuckled, “Su Le mentioned someone was chasing him just over a week ago. I didn’t expect them to be together so quickly.”
“Chasing him?” Xie Ye snorted softly, “You actually believe that?”
“Hmm?” Chi Zhiyu was curious, “Aren’t you the one who didn’t want to know?”
Xie Ye: “He brags about it every day. How could I not know?”
Chi Zhiyu was amused, realizing that Su Le was actually the one pursuing someone but deliberately phrased it the other way around.
She casually liked Su Le’s post and then turned to lecture Xie Ye.
“Xie Ye, straighten up your attitude. You’re unemployed now. Can you be a bit humble?”
Xie Ye glanced at her, “Chi Zhiyu, let me correct you on something.”
“I am currently without work,” Xie Ye smirked, “but that doesn’t mean I’m unemployed.”
Chi Zhiyu understood his meaning and raised an eyebrow, “Are you looking for a job?”
Xie Ye: “No.”
“…”
After two seconds.
Xie Ye lazily added, “I’ve been working all along.”
“?” Chi Zhiyu was taken aback, “What kind of work?”
“Oh.” Xie Ye turned to look at her, his tone casual and cocky, “Isn’t this about serving and taking care of you?”
“…”
Chi Zhiyu almost choked, feeling somewhat speechless, “So you plan to keep serving me?”
“No rush, I’m not short on money.” Xie Ye was both arrogant and shameless, “Let’s just enjoy this for now.”
Since he had some downtime, spending time with her was something he enjoyed.
And staying longer wasn’t a problem either.
Chi Zhiyu understood his meaning and silently curved her eyebrows, “What do you mean ‘for now’? You can’t possibly have no plans, right?”
“A little.” Xie Ye steered the wheel with one hand, his tone casual, “Grandpa Xie heard about my retirement and came to see me. I’ll figure it out when the time comes.”
Chi Zhiyu could roughly guess that his grandfather would come.
Over the years, seeing Xie Ye achieve real success, the Xie family’s attitude towards him had gradually softened. They weren’t as harsh as before, nor did they oppose him or force him to come back.
Still, the relationship between the grandfather and grandson remained the same.
Chi Zhiyu didn’t know much about it, but she could guess that the old man might be too proud to reach out first, maybe calling occasionally. And Xie Ye simply couldn’t be bothered.
Thinking about Xie Ye’s attitude, Chi Zhiyu nodded and reminded him, “Talk nicely to the elderly. He’s still your elder; don’t be too confrontational.”
Upon hearing this, Xie Ye just gave a noncommittal “Oh.”
“…” Chi Zhiyu knew he hadn’t listened, but she was too lazy to push the matter further. After all, that was just how he was.
Xie Ye indeed hadn’t paid attention. His fingers tapped idly on the steering wheel as he casually said, “When Grandpa comes in a few days, do you want to meet him?”
Chi Zhiyu paused upon hearing this, “Will your grandfather like me?”
“Hmm?” Xie Ye lazily replied, “Why does it matter?”
“…”
Chi Zhiyu felt a bit stuck, “Isn’t this meeting the parents?”
Xie Ye laughed, “Haven’t you met my mother?”
Chi Zhiyu frowned, “Grandpa is also part of the family.”
“Letting him meet his future granddaughter-in-law is already more than enough.” Xie Ye smirked, “What else could he possibly complain about?”
“…” Chi Zhiyu wasn’t as arrogant as him. After a moment of thought, she said, “Then set a time in advance and let me know so I can prepare.”
“No need to prepare.” Xie Ye turned off the engine and parked the car. He turned to look at her, smirking slightly, “Just show up.”
Chi Zhiyu watched him smile and couldn’t help but curve her lips, “Alright, but you must let me know in advance. What if I embarrass myself because I’m nervous?”
Xie Ye leaned over to unbuckle her seatbelt, raising an eyebrow, “You’re not afraid of me, yet you’re afraid of others?”
“How can they be the same?” Chi Zhiyu looked at him, “I love you.”
Xie Ye paused for a few seconds, raising an eyebrow with a smile, “So you’ve loved me since you were little?”
Chi Zhiyu blinked, vaguely responding, “Oh, maybe.”
Seeing her pretending, Xie Ye decided to humor her and not expose her bluff. He chuckled softly, mischievously pinching her cheek, tilting her chin, and forcefully kissing her. He even bit her lip in a teasing manner.
Chi Zhiyu’s eyes widened slightly, and she immediately tried to push him away.
As if anticipating her reaction, Xie Ye quickly released her, leaning back to look at her, “Alright, let’s get out and eat.”
“…”
His demeanor was so practiced, as if nothing had happened.
And after saying that, Xie Ye kindly wiped away the moisture from her lips.
……
Chi Zhiyu didn’t know when Grandpa Xie would come, and Xie Ye hadn’t mentioned it to her either.
At first, Chi Zhiyu was quite concerned about it, but after a week passed without any sign of him, she gradually forgot about it.
On March 31st, the eleventh day.
Chi Zhiyu had nothing scheduled at the theater, a rare opportunity to rest, but偏偏 (precisely) this guy found a chance to exhaust her until late at night before letting her sleep.
However, the next morning, Xie Ye had an early class at Ruoda University. While he woke up early himself, he somehow insisted on waking her up too. He fed her breakfast before letting her go back to sleep.
Lying in bed, Chi Zhiyu cursed him while drifting back to sleep. When she woke up, it was already 2 PM.
She sat up on the bed, dazed for a while, then got up to wash up.
As she came out of the bathroom, Xie Ye happened to call her.
Chi Zhiyu glanced at the screen, remembering the morning incident and feeling irritated. She casually answered, her tone cold, “What.”
Xie Ye raised an eyebrow, “Awake?”
“What do you want.” Chi Zhiyu’s tone was sharp, “If you have something to say, say it.”
“…”
Xie Ye was amused, “Whose tone are you imitating?”
“You tell me.” Chi Zhiyu walked out of the master bedroom towards the kitchen, intending to pour herself a glass of warm water.
Hearing her movements, Xie Ye glanced at the time, “Are you hungry?”
At this question, Chi Zhiyu recalled the breakfast she ate in her sleep earlier and didn’t feel like talking to him.
“What do you want.” Xie Ye didn’t hear her voice and lazily asked, “Gone mute?”
Chi Zhiyu sipped her warm water and snorted, “You’re the one who’s mute.”
“Alright, I’m mute.” Xie Ye knew exactly why she was still upset and chuckled, “I’ll pick you up after class and take you out to eat, okay?”
Hearing that he planned to come back, Chi Zhiyu frowned, “Isn’t that troublesome? I’ll come find you.”
“Come find me?” Xie Ye raised an eyebrow, “Not mad anymore?”
“Of course I’m still mad.” Chi Zhiyu: “But I don’t want to starve myself.”
Xie Ye laughed, “Alright, then come find me.”
“Mm, bye.”
With that, Chi Zhiyu hung up without hesitation.
Hearing the dial tone, Xie Ye raised an eyebrow but wasn’t surprised. He put down his phone as if it were routine.
Beside him, Li Taoran, who was studying for his graduate degree at Ruoda and had come to sit in on the class out of boredom, shook his head at Xie Ye’s behavior, “Xie Ye, look at how low you’ve sunk under Chi Zhiyu’s thumb.”
“Oh.” Xie Ye glanced at him, “I don’t mind.”
“…” Li Taoran was caught off guard, “Why would Chi Zhiyu like someone like you?”
Xie Ye casually replied, “Sorry, my type just happens to be her type. If you’re jealous, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
“Jealous my ass.” Li Taoran complained, “And don’t look at me like that. I’m pretty popular in my class, alright?”
“Popular?” Xie Ye sneered at his bragging, “Yeah, popular as a spare tire.”
“…” Li Taoran exploded, “Bullshit! It’s because I didn’t want them, okay? Spare tire my ass!”
Xie Ye ignored him and picked up his phone to play games.
Li Taoran glanced at the time, “Is Chi Zhiyu coming later?”
Xie Ye: “What about it?”
“I want to see her.”
“What’s there to see?”
“…” Li Taoran laughed bitterly, “Xie Ye, you’re really petty, you know that? You haven’t changed a bit since we were kids when it comes to Chi Zhiyu.”
Xie Ye paused while holding his phone, “Me? Petty?”
“Oh, still denying it, huh?” Li Taoran began listing his grievances, “In middle school, I remember Chi Zhiyu giving you notes and stuff. I just wanted to take a look, but you wouldn’t even let me touch them. So damn stingy.”
Xie Ye had no memory of this and shot him a glance, “You’re making things up.”
Li Taoran laughed, “Why would I make this up? Am I crazy?”
Xie Ye snorted and casually pulled out the book he needed for class.
Seeing this, Li Taoran clicked his tongue, “Acting all studious, huh?”
“Oh.” Xie Ye glanced at him, “You think I’m like you?”
“…” Li Taoran promptly packed up his books, “I came to keep you company out of pity. You can listen to the class by yourself.”
With that, he got up but hesitated for half a second, turning back to look at Xie Ye, “Aren’t you going to stop me?”
“Sure.” Xie Ye tilted his chin, “Go ahead.”
“…”
As the class was about to end, Chi Zhiyu left home, hailed a taxi, and arrived at the entrance of Ruoda University. She casually sent Xie Ye a message to let him know she had arrived.
Xie Ye quickly replied: [Wait.]
Chi Zhiyu responded with an “Okay” and stood aside, waiting for Xie Ye to come out.
She watched people coming and going at the school gate. Not long after, she spotted Xie Ye walking out with Li Taoran.
“Hmm?” Chi Zhiyu was surprised to see Li Taoran, “Why is Brother Li here?”
Li Taoran waved his hand, “I just happened to be at the school. Out of boredom, I accompanied him to class.”
Chi Zhiyu nodded in understanding. Li Taoran looked at her, “Why did Chi Zhiyu come here? Why didn’t you let Xie Ye come pick you up?”
“Oh.” Chi Zhiyu glanced at Xie Ye, “Today, I’m accompanying him for his birthday.”
“Hmm?” Li Taoran was momentarily stunned, looking at Xie Ye, “It’s your birthday today?”
Xie Ye paused for two seconds, as if only just realizing, and smirked, “Yes, it is.”
“…”
Something about this seemed oddly unconvincing.
But Li Taoran knew Chi Zhiyu wouldn’t lie, so he nodded, “Alright, happy birthday then.”
With that, he tactfully didn’t linger, exchanging a few simple words with Chi Zhiyu before leaving.
Chi Zhiyu watched him leave, then turned to meet Xie Ye’s dark gaze. She calmly blinked, “Why are you looking at me?”
“Tell me,” Xie Ye smirked, seemingly in a good mood, “how do you plan to spend my birthday with me?”
Chi Zhiyu looked at his arrogant demeanor and suddenly remembered being woken up early in the morning. She rolled her eyes, “I don’t know.”
“…”
Xie Ye laughed bitterly, “You don’t know, yet you came to find me?”
There was something off about this statement. Chi Zhiyu stumbled, unsure of what to say, coughed, and said, “Let’s go first.”
With that, she took the first step toward the nearby parking garage. Xie Ye watched her, his lips curling slightly as he slowly followed, walking up beside her.
Chi Zhiyu noticed him approaching and moved to the side, trying to keep some distance.
Xie Ye raised an eyebrow, “What are you doing?”
“Hmm?” Chi Zhiyu feigned ignorance, “What about me?”
Xie Ye glanced at the distance between them, “Are you trying to act like a roadblock?”
“…”
Isn’t it all because of you!
Chi Zhiyu resisted turning around and continued walking forward.
Xie Ye followed closely behind, simultaneously reaching out to hook her fingers. His palm gently moved, eventually taking her hand and swinging it slightly.
It was as if he was silently throwing a tantrum.
Chi Zhiyu noticed and suddenly couldn’t hold back her expression. She pursed her lips to suppress a smile and turned to look at him, “What are you doing?”
“Can’t you tell?”
Xie Ye teased her palm, dragging out his words with a playful tone, “I’m here to beg for forgiveness.”
Chi Zhiyu walked forward, her face expressionless, “Forgiveness for what? Did you do something wrong?”
Xie Ye’s car wasn’t far away; they reached it after just a few steps.
The car unlocked with a soft click. As Chi Zhiyu was about to open the door, Xie Ye beat her to it, pulling it open and shielding her head with one hand as she got in.
Then, he walked around the front of the car and opened the driver’s side door.
Seeing that she had already fastened her seatbelt, Xie Ye leaned in with a meaningful expression and suddenly unbuckled it.
Chi Zhiyu was startled, “What are you doing?”
Xie Ye’s tone was lazy, “Buckle it again.”
“…”
This time, Chi Zhiyu couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing, “Are you sick?”
After the seatbelt was unbuckled, it automatically retracted. Xie Ye reached over to pull it back and fasten it again. Then, he leaned down and kissed her, somewhat pleading, “I’m sorry. Don’t be mad anymore, okay?”
Upon hearing this, Chi Zhiyu’s temper flared again, and she pinched his face, “Why do you always wake me up when I’m sleeping?”
Xie Ye let her pinch him, speaking slowly and deliberately, “If you didn’t eat breakfast this morning, could you have slept peacefully until now?”
Chi Zhiyu released his face and made a choice, “Then I’d rather be woken up by hunger.”
“Nope.” Xie Ye caught her hand and bit it gently, casually saying, “Who’s letting you wake up hungry?”
Chi Zhiyu looked at him, “Then next time, let me sleep properly.”
Xie Ye pinched the soft flesh of her palm and gave her a choice, “Then stop being mad first.”
“…”
Where does that logic come from?
As if guessing her thoughts, Xie Ye locked eyes with her, his expression arrogant as he raised an eyebrow, “This is just how I am. What are you going to do about it?”
Chi Zhiyu furrowed her brow, about to speak, but Xie Ye immediately kissed her lips, silencing her words. With one hand, he cupped her cheek and pulled her closer.
Chi Zhiyu was momentarily stunned. Xie Ye didn’t move further; after a brief kiss, he retreated slightly but didn’t pull away too far. He looked down at her teasingly, “How’s that?”
Chi Zhiyu: “No—”
Before she could finish, Xie Ye kissed her again and then pulled back, shamelessly saying, “If you’re still mad, I’ll keep kissing you.”
After his antics, Chi Zhiyu’s anger had long dissipated. Hearing this, she even felt like laughing, “Are you still a kid?”
Seeing the corners of her lips curve, Xie Ye’s tone turned playful, “Do I seem immature?”
Chi Zhiyu laughed, “Could you get any more childish?”
Xie Ye didn’t respond to that but raised an eyebrow at her, “Still mad?”
Chi Zhiyu thought for a moment, “If you want me to stop being mad, there’s one condition.”
Xie Ye: “Hmm?”
Chi Zhiyu, thinking of something, added a playful note, “Promise to grant me one request in the future.”
Xie Ye nodded without hesitation, “Deal.”
Seeing how easily he agreed, Chi Zhiyu blinked, noticing there were quite a few people around. She pushed his body away, “Alright, I’m not mad anymore. Sit back properly.”
“What’s there to worry about?” Xie Ye naturally knew what she was concerned about and lazily said, “We didn’t do anything.”
“…”
Chi Zhiyu didn’t want to hear what he was about to say next and quickly interjected, “Are we celebrating your birthday or not?”
Hearing this, Xie Ye slowly straightened up, “Oh, of course we are.”
Chi Zhiyu glanced at the navigation, “Then follow the directions.”
“Hmm?” Xie Ye opened the navigation app and saw the familiar restaurant address. Casually, he said, “Oh, any surprises planned?”
Chi Zhiyu felt oddly awkward and coughed, “Just start driving.”
Xie Ye chuckled and didn’t turn on the navigation, driving out smoothly from memory.
As the car drove down the main road, Chi Zhiyu was still thinking about the upcoming schedule when the phone in her bag rang, interrupting her train of thought.
She reached in and pulled it out, recognizing Bai Li’s number on the screen. She paused for a moment.
Xie Ye heard the continuous ringing and glanced at her, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Chi Zhiyu casually answered, calmly addressing the caller, “Mom.”
Upon hearing this, the slight curve of Xie Ye’s lips faded, his expression becoming more subdued.
Chi Zhiyu didn’t hear what Bai Li said on the other end, nor did she respond much. Finally, she simply said, “I understand. I’ll come over now.”
After hanging up, Chi Zhiyu held the phone quietly for a few seconds, then turned to look at him, “Xie Ye, I might…”
Xie Ye casually asked, “Address?”
Chi Zhiyu didn’t react, “What?”
“Aren’t you going to see Bai Li?” Xie Ye looked at her, “What’s the address?”
Chi Zhiyu lowered her gaze and paused for three seconds before finally saying, “City First Psychiatric Hospital.”
Upon hearing this, Xie Ye didn’t seem particularly surprised. He reached over to take her hand, his tone casual, “Alright, then let’s go meet the parent first.”
Chi Zhiyu looked up.
Xie Ye lazily looked at her, “Then we’ll come back to celebrate my birthday.”
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